Prof Sir Mike Richards, the CQC’s lead hospital inspector, warned the NHS is “standing on a burning platform”

The warning comes after the first round of new inspections of the nation’s hospitals.

Prof Richards said the model of acute hospital care which once worked well for the NHS “cannot continue to meet the needs of today’s population”.

He said there is a “wide variation in quality” between hospitals and between services within the same hospital, following the first round of comprehensive inspections of England’s 136 acute non-specialist trusts and all 18 specialist trusts.

Inspectors uncovered pockets of “very poor quality care” in good hospitals, he added.

Sir Mike said rising demand for care and economic pressures are creating “difficult-to-manage situations that are putting patient care at risk”.

The CQC’s State of Hospitals report says: “The safety of hospitals remains our biggest concern, with four out of five trusts needing to improve.”

The safety of hospitals remains our biggest concern, with four out of five trusts needing to improve

Care Quality CommissionState of Hospitals report

Sir Mike criticised a “failure to learn” when things go wrong.

Overall, 81 per cent of the 136 non-specialist trusts were deemed to be inadequate or to require improvement for safety.

Some 11 per cent of hospital trusts were given the lowest rating for safety.

None received a rating of outstanding in this area.

More than half of specialist trusts (53 per cent) were rated as requiring improvement in terms of safety.

An NHS England spokesman said the CQC was right to praise dedicated NHS staff for delivering great care under pressurea

“We have found high levels of compassionate care in virtually every hospital.”

Sir Mike said: “We have witnessed some fantastic care and examples of innovative practice, but we have also found a wide variation in quality both between hospitals and between services within the same hospital.

“Safety remains a real concern, often due to a failure to learn when things go wrong.”

Frontline staff are the heroes of our reports. We have found high levels of compassionate care in virtually every hospital

CQCState of Hospitals report

He went on: “What is clear is that while staff continue to work hard to deliver good care, the model of acute care that once worked well cannot continue to meet the needs of today’s population.

“The NHS now stands on a burning platform – the need for change is clear, but finding the resources and energy to deliver that change while simultaneously providing safe patient care can seem almost impossible.”

Can anything resuscitate the NHS?

His foreword to the report adds: “The scale of the challenge that hospitals are now facing is unprecedented – rising demand coupled with economic pressures are creating difficult-to-manage situations that are putting patient care at risk.”

An NHS England spokesman said: “CQC are right to praise dedicated NHS staff for delivering great care under pressure, and they are also right to argue for the more profound changes now being planned in how acute hospital care is delivered across England.”

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